


The look of mischief in your eyes

by Estelle



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Elves, M/M, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 11:23:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19228183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estelle/pseuds/Estelle
Summary: Arthur is the prince of the elves, bored with the endless parties, and his existence in general. A meeting with a handsome stranger at a masquarade ball might just change that.





	The look of mischief in your eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DarkSilverWings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkSilverWings/gifts).



> For the lovely Glass, for the prompt "Fantasy AU". Hope you'll like it, darling! <3

Arthur is bored out of his mind. His father has decided to hold yet another ball, and they never get any more interesting. Of course he understands that as the king of the elven court, he has obligations to the nobles, and a reputation to uphold, but one ball a week is a bit much for Arthur’s taste.  
At least this time it is a masquerade, so Arthur can pass for a normal courtier and fade into the background, and not be constantly fawned over by starstruck suitors who are all equally boring and will never stand a chance of gaining the affection of the elven prince anyway.  
He is just contemplating getting another glass of berry wine, when someone across the room catches his eye.  
Even though the stranger is of course wearing a mask, so it is impossible to tell who he is, there’s a quality to his movements that Arthur can’t describe, and he is intrigued.  
Arthur moves across the room before he even realises what he is doing. He absolutely needs to meet this person, who just made his night infinitely more interesting just by existing.  
Before he reaches him, the stranger ducks out through a door that’s definitely not for guests, and Arthur is even more intrigued.  
He follows him into the gardens and finally catches up to him close to his favourite fountain, which he counts as a good sign.  
It is only then that he realises that he has no idea what to say, so the first thing he comes up with is “You’re not supposed to be here!”, immediately regretting his arrogant tone.  
The stranger doesn’t seem bothered though, grinning instead, and wow, this close Arthur notices how beautiful his lips are, and what a remarkable shade of grey his eyes have.  
He’s glad that the mask is hiding his blush, especially when the man steps closer and says “Darling, neither are you.”  
Arthur doesn’t correct him, not wanting to reveal who he is, and instead opts for another truth. “I merely followed you.”  
“Did you now?” The man sounds half amused, half delighted, and steps even closer. “And why is that?”  
Before Arthur can respond, they hear the sound of commotion coming from the castle, and the stranger looks around nervously, clearly wanting to leave.  
“Wait! Can I see you again?”, Arthur asks, not caring that he sounds a little desperate, only sure that he cannot let the first person who held bis interest in decades go like that.  
To his relief, the man smiles, and takes his hand, and Arthur is thrilled that someone would dare touch him this informally, and when he remembers that the man doesn’t know who he is, it doesn’t make it any less exciting.  
“Do you know the wishing pond in the forest? Meet me there after sundown tomorrow.”  
When Arthur nods, the stranger presses a quick kiss to his hand, and is gone in a heartbeat.  
Stunned, Arthur cradles his hand to his chest, staring at the spot the man disappeared from, until a guard finds him and escorts him back to a castle, where he learns that the commotion was caused by his farther noticing some of his most priced jewels missing.  
Dutifully, he reports that he has seen nothing out of the ordinary this evening, smiling to himself and thinking of steal grey eyes and soft lips, and a man who can vanish into thin air.

The next evening, he is more nervous than he thought he would be. It is clear that the man from last night is a thief, and what if he is a more dangerous than that? There’s a good chance that he will recognise the prince of the elves, and who knows how a criminal might react to that?  
In the end, his curiosity and fascination wins out though, and he sneaks out of the castle to meet his stranger in the forest.  
When he gets to the pond, the man is already there, leaning against a tree, a hood hiding his features and casting his face in shadows.  
Tentatively, Arthur steps forward, letting the moonlight reveal his own face, and nervously awaiting his stranger’s reaction.  
He doesn’t seem to recognise him though, and Arthur is delighted, surprised and relieved all at once, when the man simply greets him with “Darling, you came!”  
Arthur smiles. “I had to see you again.” He takes another step forward. “Speaking of, will you let me see your face?”  
The man seems to sigh, collecting himself, then he nods, and lifts his hands to remove his hood, and Arthur is rendered speechless, because in front of him is the most beautiful man he has ever seen, and he lives among elves who are generally said to be ethereally beautiful.  
His grey eyes look liquid in the moonlight, and his lips are full and pretty and Arthur remembers how soft they are, but also “You’re a half-elf!”, he exclaims when he finally finds his voice, and the man flinches, clearly expecting judgement.  
The relationship between humans and elves has been strained for centuries, the full-out war ending some decades ago with the two parties now largely ignoring each other, and therefore, half-elves are extremely rare, and also mostly treated unkindly.  
“No, no, no!” Arthur rushes forward, eager to reassure the man that he isn’t appalled, but quite the opposite, and he just can’t help himself, he raises his hand to feel the stubble on his cheek, still completely enraptured.  
“Oh!” The man shudders under his touch, and Arthur immediately drops his hand, horrified at how forward he’s been.  
“I’m sorry, I just...”, he starts to apologise, but the man stops him, snatching up his hand and placing it back on his cheek.  
“It’s alright, darling. I just didn’t expect it.” And gods, his voice is beautiful too, with a velvety quality and a musical accent that Arthur can’t place.  
They stand there like that for a moment, just looking at each other, until the man’s gaze flick down and a slow smile spreads on his lips.  
“I’d really like to kiss you.”  
Delighted, Arthur smiles back. “I’d like that. But I’d also like to learn what to call you first.” He knows that asking for a name is risky, because it would only be fair to give his in return, but he just can’t keep calling him “the stranger” in his head, especially not when they’re about to kiss.  
The man nods. “Of course. You may call me Eames.”  
“In that case, Eames, you may kiss me”, Arthur invites him.  
It is only a soft press of lips at first, tender and sweet, but then Arthur sighs into the kiss, and Eames takes it as an invitation, getting bolder, deepening the kiss and pressing Arthur close to him, and Arthur responds in kind, kissing back passionately and tangling his hands in Eames’ hair.

Over the next weeks, they meet at the pond nearly every night, not only learning each other’s bodies and what makes them moan and writhe in pleasure, but also each other’s hopes and passions, despairs and fears, dreams and nightmares.  
Everything is _perfect_ , so it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to Arthur that it doesn’t _last_.  
One night, when he gets to the pond, two guards are flanking Eames, pointing their swords at him, and Arthur knows that _this is it_.  
He straightens up and steps onto the clearing with his most regal posture.  
“Leave him alone!”, he commands, and the guards turn to him in shock, nearly dropping their swords.  
“Your Highness?”, one of them stutters, and Arthur arches an eyebrow.  
“I said, leave him be.”  
“But, your Highness...”, the guard dares to object, and Arthur takes a slow step forward, enjoying the look of fear on their faces.  
“You dare question me?” His voice is soft and cold, like freshly fallen snow, and the guards scramble backwards.  
“No, your Highness, of course not!” They flee the clearing, nearly running, and Arthur takes a moment to smile to himself before he turns to Eames, who is staring at him with wide eyes, shock clearly written on his face.  
“You’re Prince Arthur!”, he finally manages, sounding hoarse, and Arthur sighs.  
“I am.”  
“I stole your father’s jewels!”, is what Eames says next, and Arthur chuckles, not having expected to hear that.  
“I know. Or let’s say, I strongly suspected.”  
Eames’ eyebrows shoot up. “You did? But you still came here every night.”  
“Yes. Because I was – _am_ – completely captivated by you.” He confesses this softly, easily, like his heart isn’t beating out of his chest, and Eames seems stunned.  
“But… you’re the prince of the elves. And I’m just, well, me.”  
“What?” Arthur steps forward immediately, taking Eames’ hands. “Eames, you’re the most beautiful, amazing, _fascinating_ person I have ever met, and I have _never_ felt about anyone they way I feel about you.”  
He knows that it’s a huge confession, and he hopes it’s not _too huge_ , especially in light of what Eames just learned about him.  
With the way Eames face lights up though, it seems that it was just the right thing to say.  
“So you still want to be with me?”, he still questions, but with how is eyes are shining with happiness, he seems to be sure of the answer.  
Arthut leans forward to kiss him quickly. “Absolutely.”  
“Good.” Eames kisses him again, and then leans his forehead against Arthur’s. “We can’t keep meeting in the forest forever though.”  
Arthur chuckles. “Probably not. We’ll figure it out. Together.”  
“Together”, Eames echoes, and kisses him again, and for now they are perfectly content to revel in this feeling. Together.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a lot of thoughts on Eames' backstory, and the worldbuilding, and how their realtionship will progress, so hmu if you're interested :)


End file.
